


Peter Parker Can't

by joyful_soul_collector



Series: Just So Hungry [4]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Comicverse), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Bully Flash Thompson, Flash Thompson Being A Jerk, Flash Thompson Bullies Peter Parker, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, High metabolism, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Irondad, Mentioned Flash Thompson, POV Peter Parker, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Poor Peter Parker, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Starvation, Swearing, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, enhanced metabolism, hunger, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-18
Updated: 2019-06-18
Packaged: 2020-05-13 20:44:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19258858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joyful_soul_collector/pseuds/joyful_soul_collector
Summary: Peter goes to Stark Tower, and Tony is a Protective Dad





	Peter Parker Can't

As I walked out of the school building at the end of the day, Ned caught up with me and asked, “Where were you at lunch Peter?”

“Oh, I uh, decided to sit with Wade today.” The truth was that I wasn’t sure I’d be able to go into the cafeteria without drooling all over the place or passing out due to hunger, so I just stayed in the bathroom until class started again. But I might as well have not gone, I couldn’t focus on anything. My stomach wasn’t particularly happy with me and decided sending stabbing pains all up and down my body was the best way it could get my attention. I mean, it worked, but it didn’t help.

“Wade Wilson?” said Ned. “Isn’t he the one who’s always talking as though he’s in a comic book or a tv show?”

“Yep,” I said as my stomach suddenly seized up with a cramp that made me want to curl up in a little ball. But I stayed upright, and muttered a quick goodbye to Ned as he headed off to his bus. I started toward the road where Happy usually picked me up.

The ride to Stark Tower was as unbearable as it was long. My stomach would not  _ shut up _ , and Happy kept giving me looks. I couldn’t quite tell if they were amused or concerned, but either way he didn’t say anything.

I rubbed my belly as it grumbled, realizing that it had become rather sunken, feeling like a valley between my ribs and hip bones. Maybe I should’ve just swallowed my pride and go to lunch with Ned and MJ. They would’ve given me something to eat, and I’m not sure my so called ‘dignity’ was worth this much pain.

Finally I was in Stark Tower. My legs shook a bit as I walked through the halls of the building. I got to the elevator and punched in the key code to Dad--I mean Mr. Stark’s lab. But when the elevator opened, Mr. Stark was standing right in front of it, waiting for me. He arms were crossed and he had an angry scowl on his face.

“Peter,” he said tonelessly, and he moved aside to let me in. I stepped in, and set my backpack on a nearby chair.

“Um, something wrong Mr. Stark?”

“Yes Peter! Why the hell haven’t you been eating?!” I jumped slightly at the sudden rise in his voice. 

“What? Wait how do you know that?”

“I reinstalled the Baby Monitor Protocol Pete, and you’ve been wearing the suit all day. Karen told me your blood sugar was dangerously low. Now answer me. Why. Haven’t. You. Eaten.”

“Okay okay, lemme explain, first I lost track of time and didn’t get home from patrol until like four am so I missed dinner, then Dart was really hungry today so I gave him my breakfast and then--”

“Hang on, who’s Dart?”

“He’s this skinny grey cat that kinda looks like a Demodog from Stranger Things, and I usually feed him on my way to school but this time I forgot to bring him something and he looked so sad and so I--Oh fuck.” The room suddenly started to sway around me, and I could feel my knees starting to give out. Dad--Mr. Stark’s scowl was suddenly replaced with a look of horror. He rushed to me and I keeled over into his arms.

“Holy shit kid, are you okay? Oh man, your face, you look a bit like a skeleton…” He helped me over to the plush red couch and settled me down in it. I remember him telling me it was his favorite couch, he always slept on it when he was too tired from work to go home.

His hand moved frantically around my back, feeling for injuries. He froze when he reached my ribs. “ _ Oh fuck. _ ” He got up and grabbed a pillow from one of the other couches in the room (he has an odd amount of couches, but I guess he’s a billionaire so he can have as many couches as he wants). “Friday, would you please send up some--Peter, what do you want to eat?”

“Oh man, anything. God I’m starving.” He put the pillow on the arm rest and then had me lay down as I continued. “Grilled cheese, pancakes, mashed potatoes, pop tarts, tacos, Thai, pizza, popcorn, fucking Lucky Charms--” My stomach rumbled low and loud as I continued to list off foods, and I could see Mr. Stark’s worried face out of the corner of my eye. But I was too hungry to feel embarrassed. All I could think about was food. I only stopped listing things off when a cramp in my belly made me double over like I’d been punched. “Oww, Jesus, that hurts, that hurts a fucking lot.” 

I groaned in pain as Mr. Stark said, “Friday, if you would please order everything Peter just listed, that’d be great.”

“Yes sir,” Friday said. 

I sat up in surprise. “ _ Everything _ ? I thought you were just gonna pick  _ one _ \-- Mr. Stark, you didn’t have to--”

“Too late!” He interrupted, holding up a “don’t even try to argue” finger. “If you have leftovers then I’ll have you come back after patrol one day. But for today, you’re going to eat until I can’t feel your ribs anymore and then sleep here so you can recover. I’ll tell Aunt Hottie that you got held up at the Internship and I offered to let you stay here. Sound good Spider-Boy?”

“It’s Spider- _ Man _ ,” I muttered. 

“Suuuuure kid.” Mr. Stark walked about his lab for a second, closing some of the programs he was working on. He sighed suddenly and said, “Pete, you can’t do this to yourself. What if you get hurt? You can’t pull shit like this.”

I rolled my eyes a little, and pulled the pillow so it sat on my lap. “Well I didn’t  _ mean _ to be out so late, or to forget to bring something for Dart,  _ or _ for Flash to steal my money--”

“Wait, what?”

“I said I didn’t mean to--”

“No, no, someone stole your money?”

I froze. I didn’t mean to say that. I was too hungry to think straight. Fuck. I stared at Mr. Stark for a moment, before answering.  

“I--um, yeah, uh, there’s this guy named Flash at school--” I said, now looking anywhere but Mr. Stark’s face, and running a shaky hand through my hair. “--and um, he likes to--to hit me, and like, take my money or steal my backpack or beat me up. And I usually hide my money but I forgot to this morning and um… Well he took it right before lunch.”

“Did he do that to your coat?” Mr. Stark asked, pointing to the rip in my coat sleeve.

I glanced at my sleeve; I’d completely forgotten that was there. 

“Uh, no. I um, right after he stole my money I tried to go to the cafeteria, but I uh, I blacked out on my way there and fell into the lockers. There must’ve been a broken piece of metal sticking out or something, cuz my coat got caught on it and ripped.” I looked forlornly at the tear. “This coat was supposed to last for awhile longer. Flash is going to have another thing to make fun of me for now.”

“What do you mean?” Mr. Stark asked.

I turned red, and looked down at my knees, not sure of what to say.

“Kid, how long have you had that coat?”

“…Five years now,” I said. “He’s going to make fun of me for not being able to afford a new coat.”

I finally looked back at Mr. Stark, who just stared at me for a moment. Then he got up, walked towards me, and sat down on the floor in front of me. It was odd to be looking down at him, he was usually the one looking down to see me.

“Don’t worry about the coat, okay kid? I’m going to pay for it, don’t even try and protest,” he said. He sighed, looking at me with a pained expression. “Why do you let him do that to you? Why don’t you defend yourself? You’re  _ literally  _ starving, kid. And you’re a fucking superhero! I’ve seen you holding two halves of a boat together, you could totally take on that, that  _ Flash _ kid.”

“Yeah,  _ I _ could, but Peter Parker  _ can’t _ ,” I said, lying back on the couch, resting my head on the pillow again.

“…I don’t follow.”

“It’s different for you, you’re an  _ out _ superhero, everyone knows you’re Iron Man. Only MJ, Ned, and you, know I’m Spider-Man. Peter Parker, before I got powers, couldn’t fight off the bullies or play sports or do much of anything really. If I suddenly start being able to do things I couldn’t before, then everyone is going to put two and two together and then all the bad guys are gonna know who to hurt in order to get to me. I’m not a billionaire like you, Mr. Stark. I can’t just put my family under surveillance and hire bodyguards to protect them.” I sighed.

“Okay. I understand what you’re saying. But… there’s a difference between going all superhero and just defending yourself. How many times has he does this to you?” He laid a hand on my arm. I looked down at it before meeting his eyes again.

“I--Um, only a--a few times…” Mr. Stark raised his eyebrows. “Okay, a lot of times but I mean I learned to hide my money so he doesn’t get as many opportunities to steal it anymore so--”

“Come on kid, you have to defend yourself! What if he’d stolen your money yesterday too? What if you’d missed your lunch, dinner, breakfast, and then today’s lunch? You could’ve been in the  _ hospital _ right now!” I looked away, feeling shame creep into my chest. Mr. Stark lifted his hand off my arm and put it under my chin, coaxing me to look back at him. “Pete, please promise me that you won’t let him make you go hungry anymore.” 

“I--Okay, um, I promise.” Suddenly, my stomach gave a loud snarl that made Mr. Stark jump. He grimaced, a look of worry painted on his face and nervously checked his watch. I squirmed uncomfortably, closing my eyes and trying to find a position that didn’t make my belly feel like it was being stabbed.

“The food’s here,” he said suddenly. I could hear the smile in his voice. I can’t believe he’s taunting me now, and he’s not even being convincing. There’s no way it’s here, it’d take forever to get all that food.

“Ugh, don’t tease me,” I said, hugging my torso in pain.

“No seriously kid, it’s here.”

“What? How? I thought it’d take hours to get all that!” I sat up as Mr. Stark dragged out one of those big rolling trays you see in movies and fancy restaurants. It was stacked with everything I’d asked for. Just looking at it made my stomach ache. I clutched my belly as it rumbled pitifully and hastily wiped off some drool off my face as he got closer. “Oh man…” I said breathlessly, staring at all the food.

“Go on,” Mr. Stark said. He sat down next to me and held up his own packet of blueberries he’d begun eating.

I reached out and snatched up the nearest thing, which was a bowl of mashed potatoes, shoveling large spoonfuls into my mouth.

God it felt good to eat something. After seeing me eat a bowl of mashed potatoes, a whole box of cereal, and three tacos, Mr. Stark seemed to think it was okay for him not to have to watch my every move, and he put on Batman The Animated Series. It’s an obscure cartoon that I’ve only ever heard Wade talk about, but it’s still my favorite.

We watched that together for hours while I ate until I was so warm and full I was starting to fall asleep on Mr. Stark’s shoulder.

He looked down at me as my head drooped. “You feelin’ better kid? You look better at least.”

“Yeah. Thanks Dad,” I mumbled. Then everything went blissfully dark as I fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> This is the last part of Peter's POV. The next (and last) part is from Tony's POV. Hope you all enjoyed this!


End file.
